Sony is being threatened with legal action by senior Church of England clergy for its “highly irresponsible” action in depicting a gory gun battle in the nave of Manchester Cathedral in a computer game.

The Dean of Manchester has condemned the game as “virtual desecration” and is demanding that every copy is withdrawn. In a legal letter sent to Sony yesterday, the Very Rev Rogers Govender demanded a “substantial donation” to the cathedral for its work with young people.

The clergy are particularly distressed that the 18-rated game is set in a church known for its outreach to the victims of gun crime, an escalating problem in Manchester. In the past three days alone, three people have been shot in the city. Every autumn the cathedral puts on a special service for the friends and relatives of gun-crime victims.

The row was disclosed in The Times on Friday after church leaders learnt of the content of the game, which has been on sale in Europe since March and in the rest of the world for six months. More than a million copies of the PlayStation3 game Resistance: Fall of Man have been sold.

Sony said yesterday that it was dealing directly with the cathedral over the issue.

But Razi Mireskandari, a top media lawyer, said that the cathedral and its clergy could have grounds for an action against Sony for defamation and breach of copyright. The cathedral could also sue Sony for “endorsement rights”, he said, which was ironic given that had endorsement been sought in the first place, the clergy would have refused it.

Canon Paul Denby, subDean and administrator, said: “What a display of gratuitous violence, sickening and showing the cathedral as an empty space filled with horror rather than living prayer. It just shows what a vivid imagination and a sick mind can produce.” Sony said in a statement: “We believe we have sought and received all permissions necessary for the creation of the game. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is aware of the concerns expressed by the cathedral authorities . . . and we naturally take the concerns very seriously.” Sony emphasised that the game was “not based on reality”.

Copyright conundrum

— France has stricter laws governing images of public building. Images of the Eiffel Tower by day can be used but the lighting that was added in 2003 has been copyrighted

— The exteriors of buildings in the UK are not considered to be copyright protected. An agreement with the photographer is usually suffice

— The interiors of buildings in the UK are protected, however EA Games had to receive permission from the FA to use images of the new Wembley

— A case can be made only if a copyright holder is still alive or has died in the past 70 years – a potential problem for the CofE as Manchester Cathedral’s archives date back to 1361